West Hill Park

This is the second largest park in the city and West Hill is one of the most famous hills in Guilin. Though it is a big attraction, it is always non-touristy and not like the other crowded scenic spots in the town. So it is strongly recommended by us. You have a chance to enjoy a quiet beautiful park, wonderful view of the city and the colorful old Buddhism culture there.

West Hill Park is the second largest comprehensive public park in Guilin and located 2 kilometers west of Guilin city center and covers about 2 square kilometers (0.8 square miles). It includes the Hidden Hill and the West Hill. The West hill is surrounded by a lake called West Lake, by which stands a temple called Xi Qingling Temple. The attractions in the park are West Hill, Hidden Hill, West Lake, XiQingling Temple, Buddhist statues and the tomb of Russian army lieutenant colonel ……

West Hill is well known for Buddhist statues and used to be a quite famous Buddhist spot in old times. XiQingling Temple was built in Tang Dynasty and was one of the five most famous Buddhist temples in south China. Today, over 200 Buddhist statues which were made in Tang Dynasty still remain on the cliff. The hill consists of West Peak, Stone Fish Peak, Dragon Head Peak, Guanyin Peak and Qianshan Peak. West Peak which is 357 meters above sea level is the main peak and the highest point of the hill. A good bird’s eye view of the city can be got from this peak. This is also a wonderful place to see the sunset.

Guanyin Peak which is 328 meters above sea level is the second highest peak in the park. This is the treasure house of the old Buddhist relics. Following the stairs, more than a hundred of vivid Buddhist statues can be seen along the way. The biggest one is about 2 meters tall. All of the statues were made and carved on the cliff early in Tang Dynasty.

Hidden Hill features a great number of caves. All caves are connected with each other. The most famous caves are Sunset Cave, South Glory Cave, North Window Cave, Lotus Cave and White Bird Cave.

Buddhism was introduced into Guangxi in the period of Western Han Dynasty (Western Han Dynasty: 202BC – 9). And it was flourishing and Guilin became one of the most important Buddhism centers in southern China in Tang Dynasty (Tang Dynasty: 618 – 907). In the period of Tang Dynasty, more Indian Buddhism culture was introduced into China through South China Sea, Pearl River and Li River. This is why the stone – carved Buddhism statues in Guilin are different from those in the middle of China. XiQingling Temple inside the West Hill Park was built in Tang Dynasty and then became one of the five most famous Buddhism temples in south China.